It was a historic moment for Local Matters when we were chosen as the lead not-for-profit in the creation of the first ever Columbus-Franklin County Local Food Action Plan. In an effort to create a stronger, more sustainable local food system, the initiative launched in late 2014 and was adopted in November 2016 by Columbus City Council and the Franklin County Board of Commissioners. The plan is a community effort, informed by over 1,000 people and a diverse working committee led by the City of Columbus, Franklin County and Local Matters over a two-year period. We join a small number of cities in the US, like Seattle, WA and New Haven, CT who have adopted food plans, putting us in a position to become national leaders with regard to cross-sector collaboration, community engagement and sustainability through food.

The plan is an operable blueprint, starting with 800 actions, distilled to 27 with the greatest potential impact, that address the following four goals:

Improve access to and education about healthy, affordable and local foods

Prevent, recover and recycle food-related waste

Increase the role of food in economic development

Enhance coordination and communication among existing food resources and agencies